Short story: something-something

            A knock on the door.

            I wonder who’s already up and about this early, she thought.

            She headed towards the door, but when she was a few steps away from it her son dashed from his bedroom. He opened the door and unsurprisingly Billy stood there.

            “Tim! You are still here! Haven’t you heard…” Billy exclaimed, but noticed his mom behind him, “Oh, hi, Tim’s mom.”

            “Good morning to you, too, Billy. It is going to be a wonderful today. I just feel it in my bones.”

            The boys laughed at that. “Why are you laughing?”

            “You say that every morning, mom. But, Bil, what’s the good news?”

            Billy was dumbfounded for he had forgot why he was so worked up for and ran all the way to his friend’s house. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but everyone in the village still loved him, because everyone loved everyone in the Better Side.

            “Billy, you can come inside to think. I think I had some cookies left from yesterday. Perhaps they will jog your memory.”

            Billy’s face lit up at that remark and headed to sit on his chair. It wasn’t particularly HIS chair, but for the last five years, when he came to visit, he always sat on it. At one time Tim had hid the chair in the kitchen, to see what Billy will do if his favorite chair isn’t there anymore. Surprisingly he didn’t take another chair to sit down but preferred to stand. Even though everyone else was sitting on chairs. But when Tim’s mother brought the chair back to its usual place, because it got in her way in the kitchen, Billy sat down immediately. There was nothing unique about Billy’s favorite chair: it was a seat like any other. Tim never asked Billy, why he prefers that chair to others. Tim thought that if his friend liked that chair then it was his own business, because that’s just how things are.

            After finishing the cookies Billy suddenly perked up again. “We must hurry, Tim, before he leaves! If he’s not already gone!”

            “Who are you talking about?”

            “The storyteller of course! Albeit it’s not the famous one like the Silvertongue or Ms. Story, but he claims to be all around the Better Place! And he even claims to have gone to the…” Billy looked from left to right and then back to left conspicuously before saying “Darker Side”. Both boys shivered to that. It was common knowledge that nothing good happens in the Darker Side. Gran said that all the naughty little boys and girls are lured in there, where they grow up and become even naughtier. And cautioned Tim to be on his best behavior or the Darker Side will pull him in, too!

            “But that’s impossible surely. Nobody can come back from the…” Tim paused for a minute and finished his sentence with “Other Side”.

            “Well, that’s not what he claims. He says that the world isn’t carved into two either, but to three parts! And from the third place he ended back on the Better Side.”

            “This I must hear. I have read every book in our library. But it doesn’t say anywhere that there is a third place. And the books only give a glimpse of what the… Other Side… might be about.”

            Tim felt very proud, because he had read all the books from the village library and thought that he heard every story that there was in his side of the world. He hadn’t gone further than a few feet from his home village, so his “world” was quite narrow indeed. But even so he took pride in his accomplishment, because not many kids or even seniors had read a book from the library, let alone all the books. And whenever a storyteller came through his village, he was always the first to ask new stories. Soon the storytellers couldn’t impress Tim anymore, because they hadn’t any good new stories to tell him. So, Tim was pleasantly surprised when his friend excitedly told about the Storyteller, who had managed to go to the Darker Side.

            “I would really like to go, but I promised mom that I help her with chores today.”

            “Oh, that’s alright. I can do the chores myself, too. You can help me next time.”
            “Are you sure, mom? I mean I can…” Tim tried to hide his excitement and already was thinking what he will ask the Storyteller.

            “Yes, yes. You two go along now but be back before dinner!” She had to yell the last part, because the boys had already run outside.

            That storyteller must be a good liar or have a wild imagination to come up with that kind of a lie. One thing is to say that one has gone through to the… Darker Side… which is already impossible, but not so much to lie about it. But to think up that the world isn’t divided into two, but to three parts? What’s next? Dragons roam the neighboring side? Nymphs dance under the moonlight and burn lost kids for their gods? Almost forgot! The woman hurried to her altar and lit up her candles on the altar to Her Kindness.

            “Tim, wait up!”

            “Just hurry up! I don’t want the other kids to bore the storyteller to death with their whining before I can hear his stories.”

            Even if Tim said that he still slowed down to let Billy catch up to him. They ran in a steady pace for a few minutes and soon arrived at the outskirts of the village. Luckily Mary and Gwen hadn’t managed to get in an argument whose story is better to hear. Tim thought that both of their stories were similar just one had more detours than the other. Mary always wanted to hear the story of a peasant boy called Yaclack, who charmed his way into high court and married a beautiful princess and got a kingdom to boot. Gwen wanted to hear about a prince Shick, who lost face in his court and was soon banished from his kingdom altogether. So, he lived a few years as a peasant, and like Yaclack he charmed his way into high court, married a princess and yada yada.

            The storyteller asked what story the kids might like to hear.

            “Tell us about Sir Roland and his faithful dog!” Barry called.

            “No, tell us about Prince Bloh and his trusty sword!” Mary yelled.

            “No! I want to hear the story how the bear got stuck in a cave and was rescued by Her Kindness!”

            And then the kids’ voices burst into a cacophony. The storyteller blinked a few times before raising his hands up in mock surrender and the kids went silent. “How about I tell you the story how Mary lost his lamb…”

            “And got reunited with her on Her Kindness shrine? Heard that already.” Tim said with a boring tone.

            The storyteller looked puzzled for a moment but regained his posture. “Alrighty then. How about the story how the squirrels once…”

            “Climbed so high that they could see Her Kindness? That’s old news already.”

            “How about…”

            It went on like this for a half an hour before the storyteller realized that this was not an average boy he was dealing with here. And he was starting to lose his temper with this know-it-all bugger. But he realized that there’s a story that isn’t so well known in these parts for some reason. “How about a story that explains why our world is divided?” This is a good sign. He’s not barging into my story again. Perhaps this is a story even he has not heard.

            The kids looked eager to hear this new story and the annoying kid looked puzzled. The storyteller’s smile widened at that and began: “At first only a house was grey…”

            What a lonely looking house that is. It seems to have been just abandoned. It hasn’t even been painted. What a shame. The old man thought to himself. Perhaps someone IS living there. I should go and look. The old man knocked on the door, but to no avail. He knocked twice and even thrice, but nothing. So, he looked around and headed inside, but that was a mistake. Why? Because before Eleusas was divided to two sides, there only was Better Side. Only the house represented the Darker Side. And that’s the house which the old man entered.

            His thoughts turned from sweet and happy to sour and glum in an instant. It was the first time that someone was affected by the Darker Side. He tried to leave the place, but he could only walk a few steps outside. And he noticed that some of the green grass had turned into grey. And he could only step on the grey-colored grass, because as everyone knows nobody returns from the Darker Side, except me of course, who has done the impossible. But that is a story for another day.

            He pondered what to do next, because all happy thoughts had left him, he was left only with the worse ones. Each day he became sadder, because there are no happy feelings in the Darker Side. But one day a kid happened to pass by the house and the old man. The kid saw how sad the old man was, and compassion took him to the old man to comfort him. But he didn’t notice that the grass had changed color. So, he placed his hand on the old man, and he wanted to say “What are you doing? Is something wrong with you?” Because this was the first time that our people had witnessed someone being “sad”. That’s what the Darker Side people feel most of the time. We don’t know how it’s like being “sad”, because Her Kindness has blessed us with only positive thoughts and emotions.

            But getting on track again. The boy didn’t say what he wanted to say, but uttered instead “Stupid, old man, look at what you have become! The only thing you can do is weep and be miserable.” The boy was shocked, because he hadn’t been mean to anybody before. It’s a frequent behavior that has been witnessed from the Darker Side people. Both towards us and themselves. Anyhow the old man replied to the boy with the same meanness. The boy tried to run away from the old man, who made him feel awful. But as with the old man, he was stuck in that place. He could only go as far as the grey went.

            So, they started bickering among themselves, and the grey area grew a little bit. They didn’t notice it until morning. The old man concluded that if they wanted more moving space, they had to lure other people in. So, they conceived many plans, but after arguing and yelling they realized that the best way to trick someone in, is to pretend that they are happy and there’s nothing abnormal going on. They couldn’t keep up the charade, though. Passersby noticed that their smiles were forced, and they fell each other’s throats before they managed to lure someone in. After a while people started to ignore the house entirely. It was easy to do, because it was out of the ways anyway. People started to call it the Forced Smiles house, where a grandfather and his grandson laid waiting for someone to come visit them. A few people sometimes did go, but they had heard the stories and distanced themselves. And some say that you can still hear them arguing if you listen closely.

            Now that’s the story how the Darker Side grew a little bit, but now I’m going to tell you how it almost conquered the world. Like I said at first the world was full of colors like you see in our side. Even the Darker Side, which was then just called Brighter Side, because the old man and his house separated ours, Better Side, and theirs, Brighter Side. But you could always just go around the old man to reach the other side. Her Kindness was alone back in those days like she was thousands of years before and, as she is now holding His Ruthlessness back. But one faithful day She came upon a cunning mortal. The mortal’s name was Cunt´hing, which means cunning or clever soul in the Old tongue. Cunt´hing managed to slither his way into Her Kindness heart and made a nest there. I can’t say if the mortal meant to break her heart in the first place or did, he once truly care about her. Perhaps His Ruthlessness had something to do with his deceit. That’s a question that priestesses and monks still haven’t concluded on.

            In either case Her Kindness’ power rose to the roof thanks to her new-found love. The power was so great in fact that it almost managed to save the old man and the boy from their misery. The grey area was reduced back to its original place: only the house remained grey again. Some say that the house also started to show color, and His Ruthlessness grew ever anxious what would happen to Him if he was banished from the house, too. Others say that the house remained gray as it stands to this day.

            In any case when a few years had passed Cunt´hing started to fancy another fair maiden called Serlona, which means unexpected. Some even say that His Ruthlessness had a hand in encouraging Cunt´hing’s desire towards her by taking a human form and acting as a friend to him. In those stories His Ruthlessness is called Humbra, which means in old tongue false friend or bad friend. Serlona of course knew about Cunt´hing and his relationship with Her Kindness. So, she tried to avoid Cunt´hing as much as possible, but in the kind-day she still had to put up with him. (Kind-day is the day of the week, where people of the Better Place come to worship Her Kindness in Her holy places, and once a month hear a sermon from a priestess). Little by little Cunt´hing managed to sway Serlona to his side, and after many years of pushing him away Serlona finally agreed to lay with him.

            The stories vary how Her Kindness heard about his betrayal. People from Samnossa say that She knew it beforehand, because She is omniscient, which means She knows all. Good folk in Dandalos are certain that She stumbled upon them accidentally. A few people even whisper that His Ruthlessness told Her about it. These people say that Cunt´hing went to brag to Humbra, His Ruthlessness’ human form. He offered Him a drink and said that he had conquered a woman, and none can resist his manly charms: be it a woman or Her Kindness herself.

            In any case Her Kindness didn’t feel so good, when hearing the news. Some scholars speculate that she might have felt “sadness” as those in the Darker Side people sometimes show. Other religious folk believe that she didn’t feel anything: sadness or happiness. But be as it may it gave His Ruthlessness the time to act. He whispered to Her Kindness many poisonous words that hurt Her Kindness. And with each word Her Kindness’ realm weakened, and His Ruthlessness’ realm grew.

            Until a brave hero called Herch´ulo which means disturbed savior or concerned hero in old tongue came along. He saw how the colors were fading from the world and becoming gray all around. He had done many great feats in his time, but those are stories for another day. He noticed it when he was talking to a local water nymph. He saw how the waters turned gray and it grew and grew until it reached the friendly nymph, who started to say mean things to him for no apparent reason. He backed away from the ever-reaching gray, because he, too, had heard about the story how that color can change people into something else.

            Because he was the wisest of his time, he knew exactly what the problem was and he headed straight to Her Kindness’ palace, where His Ruthlessness’ minions guarded the doorway. The minions were not as smart as Herch´ulo. They asked him who he is and why he has come. Herch´ulo answered that he was His Ruthlessness’ best friend Amblo, which means in old tongue a lie, and He is expecting him. The minions didn’t dare to forestall His Ruthlessness’ friend and let him pass.

            Our hero was lucky that His Ruthlessness got bored with Her Kindness and went on a hunting trip to the Hunted Forest for a few months. Herch´ulo noticed Her Kindness sitting on the floor with Her head resting on Her knees, sobbing. Her Kindness didn’t raise Her head to see who had come or who was approaching Her. Herch´ulo hugged Her Kindness and whispered comforting words to her ear for a few weeks. When Her Kindness started to get Her bearings, She noticed our great hero. She thanked him for his service and asked if there is anything, She can help him with in turn. The hero immediately replied that the gray is getting out of control, and people have lost their sparks in their eyes. Her Kindness called him a liar and turned our great hero into a stone, because that’s what She does to liars.

            But the hero’s words left Her restless, and so She walked into Her balcony, where She could lay Her eyes upon all the three corners of the world. She noticed that one part is totally white, as it should be. But something was amiss. She heard a lot of screaming and cursing all around, and most disturbingly there were a lot of gray around. She realized to Her horror that the mortal was telling the truth that the color really is being drained from the world. At the same time His Ruthlessness burst into Her palace calling: “My dear, my dear, what are you doing up? It’s not good for you!”

            “My dearest friend, how could you betray me so?”

            “What ever are you talking about, my dear?” His Ruthlessness tried to faint ignorance but failed miserably. He couldn’t hide his smile from Her Kindness.

            “You know very well, what I am talking about! Look how the color is being drained from the world. Can’t you hear the people cry out to me?!”

            “Oh, you mean that, my dear! That’s been going on for a while now. I didn’t want to put more stress on you. Now, be a dear and go…”

            “No! I will not listen to your falsehoods anymore! A great hero, who will be remembered in ages to come for his noble sacrifice, came to me and warned me about your misdeeds. I banish you from this land from this day to the day I draw my last breath! You nor your minions shall not come on my realm ever again!”

            “My dear, be reasonable! How can you trust a mere mortal to your life-long friend?”

            “You are no friend of mine, Ruthful! I will make your name be feared across all three sides of the world, so none will listen to your lies anymore!”

            “Kindie, please, you know I…”

            “I. Said. BEGONE!!!”

           

            “And that’s how the ever-lasting fight between His Ruthlessness and Her Kindness began. Once they were best friends, but now separated by a barrier both physically and mentally,” the storyteller finished his story.

            Tim asked if there was any truth to the story. The storyteller smiled and said: “Every story holds at least a grain of truth. Some more, others less. But the most important thing about a story…” The kids leaned their heads towards him in anticipation. “Is to get your money’s worth from your listeners. Now show me that your grateful by giving me a few royal coins,” the storyteller smiled. But almost everybody had already run away before he could even finish.